oh not again...

Rating: 4/10 (16 August 2005)

Dark gritty, sci-fi thriller it began. Daft, no-brain action it inevitably turned out to be. This film is basically a chainsaw disguised as a dictionary. The concept is great, but predictably Michael Bay just couldn't keep his hand out of his trousers and proceeds to blow it all over a series of over-edited action scenes, that are visually nice, but they feel unnecessary and sloppy. Bay done it all before and it shows, this was supposed to be a break from the Bruckheimer mould but ends up as the same thing.
The film begins quite well. Ewan Mcgregor plays Lincoln-Six-Echo a 'product' of Sean Bean's not so evil plan to prolong human life. He's not even a bad guy when you think about it, just a fool with a god complex, which is repeatedly established at needless points. Anyway Lincoln discovers 'The Island' is a fraud and does a runner with Jordan-Two-Delta(Scarlett Johansson). It is at this point that Bay, inexplicably removes the elements of intrigue that could've formed a good thriller. The moral ideals of cloning are never truly explored, nor is the idea of cloning being integrated into society.
The Island's vision of the future is unfocused. By 2019 we have floating trains and bikes, but no cars and buses. we can clone but wear the same design Puma's and drive the same kinds of cars (At one point I spotted a regular Volvo) What about fuel? Global Climate? This film is sloppy, because it took the audience for idiots (which we aren't, mostly) and aimed below the standards it could have achieved, which is what disappointed me the most.
Don't get me wrong I love action, but it's like Orange Juice, it's much better smooth and pure, than processed and stagnant.
Oh and look out for a dead clone who magically reappears at the end during one of Bay's many panning wide shots.